Sir,- In advance of immanent negotiations about a public service pay deal, Jack Chambers signs off his article as “Minister for Public Expenditure’. (“We want a public service pay deal -and everything is on the table”, Opinion, July 1st). He also happens to be Minister for Public Service Reform.The tone of his article is calm and reassuring that, in the end, an amicable agreement will be reached.I would like to see a bit more of an edge to his scene-setting, especially given the explosive growth in the number of public servants and the associated pay bill which he cites, growth not entirely caused by a growing, ageing population.There are very serious questions about the performance of large sections of the public service that need to be on the table in these negotiations.No doubt, the unions will cite private sector benchmarks as leverage to extract more money from government. That being so, it is imperative that with his reform hat on, Chambers places on the table the desiderata that go hand in hand with private sector pay deals, concepts such as performance; personal accountability, with consequence arising; implementation, for example of “urgent” flood defence projects; rationalisation, for example of the sprawling Department of Agriculture; frontline and middle-management redundancies triggered by digitisation and AI; productivity; cost-effective IT investments; and infrastructure projects delivered within budget and on time.Irish public servants are well paid, pensioned and protected from ever losing their jobs. Chambers’s job in these negotiations to extract commitments to badly needed reforms and performance improvements, with consequential penalties for nondelivery. At least twice in the past year he has publicly admonished public servants to pull up their socks. Now is his chance to use the power of the purse to incentivise a results-focused culture. – Yours, etc,EDDIE MOLLOY, Rathgar, Dublin 6.